Fruit transfer means



7 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. A. DUNN FRUIT TRANSFER MEANS III r 1 HI OriginalFiled Sept. 9, 1940 Jan. 21, 1947.

Jan. 21, 1947. e. A. DUNN A 2,414,534

FRUIT TRANSFER MEANS Original Filed Sept. 9, 1940 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 7Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Sept. 9, 1940 Jan. 21, 1947. DUNN h FRUITTRANSFER MEANS Original Filed Sept. 9, 1940 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jan. 21,1947. G, DUNN 2,414,584

FRUIT TRANSFER MEANS Original Filed Sept. 9, 1940 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 w55' & It. 4026 32 90 i z 19 z 31 55 o a 6' 57 J1 15 j! g 3726 O 25 7 1Jan. 21, 1947. A N "2,414,584 FRUIT TRANSFER MEANS Original Filed Sept.9, 1940 7 Sl 1ee ts-Sheet 6 54' I VJ .54 1 5 I I 52 52 l u E r1 2 2 E 52 E} 30 1/ E 11 E F III Jan. 21, 1947.

G. A DUNN FRUIT TRANSFER MEANS Original Filed Sept. 9, 1940 7Sheets-Sheet 7 II" III" I Q} m a- 37 W I IH' (.HHHIIWMI Patented Jan.21, 1947 2,414,584 FRUIT TRANSFER MEANS Guy A. Dunn, Oakland, Calif.,assignor to California Packing Corporation, San Francisco, Calif., acorporation of New York Original application September 9, 1940, Serial iDivided and this application August 20, 1943, Serial No. 499,373

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a fruit transfer means, and more particularlyto a means for transferring fruit such as pears from one position toanother in a continuously operating pear preparation machine.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No.355,988, filed September 9, 1940, for Pear peeling machine.

It isan object of this invention to provide a transfer means operablefor transferring fruit from one position to another. in a continuouslyoperating machine so that a series of operations may be performed uponthe pear in the preparation thereof for canning or other allied uses.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means applicable togrip or support the pear so that it will be maintained in the positionin which it is gripped and transferred while in such position through aseries of operations in such manner that the position and alignment ofthe fruit is maintained throughout the series of op erations performedon the fruit during such transfer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a transfer means operablein a continuously operating preparation machine for transferring a pearfrom its predetermined position within a peeling unit to a position withrelation to a coring or seed-pod-removing unit, and which transfer meansare operable to maintain the pear in position of transfer along an axialline containing the stem fibres of the pear.

Another object of this invention isto provide a fruit transfer meanswhich includes a pear of contoured gripping members which are adapted toaccommodate themselves to the contour of a pear, means for actuating thecontour members to yieldably urge the same into a pear-clampingposition, and means for moving the said clamping means through apredetermined path to position the fruit in predetermined relation forthe performance of a second preparation operation thereon.

Other objects and advantages of this invention it is believed will beapparent from the following detailed description of a preferred em-'bodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a partial elevation partially in vertical section of a fruitpreparation machine embodying my invention. t

Figure 2 is a sectional end elevatien taken substantially on the line2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional end elevation taken substantially on the line3--3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detached elevation of the slide bracket.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the transfer assembly embodying myinvention.

Figure 6 is a sectional end view taken substantially on the line 6-46 ofFigure 5.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of the transfer assembly. e

Figure 8 is a sectional plan view taken substantially on the line 8-8 ofFigure 7 on an enlarged scale showing one of the clamp members in openposition and showing the actuating linkage therefor in dotted lines.

Figure 9 is a sectionaledge elevation of one of the clamp members takensubstantially on the line 9 -9 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a front elevation of the slide bracket.

Figure 11 is a sectional plan view taken on the line ll-ll of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a sectional plan View. taken on the line |2-l2 of Figure10.

Figure 13 is a sectional edge elevation taken on the line l3-|3 ofFigure 10.

Figure 14 is an elevation of the cam actuating slide.

Figure 15 is a sectional end elevation taken substantially on the lineI5-l 5 of Figure 14.

Figure 16 is a sectional edge elevation taken substantially on the linel6l6 of Figure 14.

Figure 17 is a sectional plan view taken substantially on the lineI1--l1 of Figure 14. e

In the preferred embodiment of my invention .as herein illustrated, Ihave shown the fruit transfer means embodying myinvention asincorporated in a pear preparation machine which may be of the formdisclosed in my parent application hereinabove referred to. In thismachine there is a main operating turret in which the fruit to beprepared is supported upon a stemming tube I and is held from rotationby means of an impalingblade 2 while being pealed by means of upper andlower peeling cutters 3 and 4, respectively. The pear is held on thestemming tube l against endwise movement by means of an end collar 5which positions the pear with relation to its seedpod.

The working turret includes a stationary column 6 upon which there isrotatably mounteda spider l to which is secured a driving gear} drivenfrom any suitable source. The spider! is operatively connected with apeeling plate 9 which is journaled upon the stationary column medium ofwhich the upper and lower cutters'3- and 4 are revolved and actuated topeel the fruit as it is impaled upon the stemming tube and as' theworking turret is continuously rotated.

As set forth in my parent application, the im paling blade 2 may becarried by a splitting-blade I2, the function of which is to divide thefruit into halves after it is peeled andas it is trans ferred off fromthe stemming tube I to aposition over a coring plate (not shown) whichcarries means for cutting the seed-pod from thepear I halves and fortrimming the calyx end of the pear.

The transfer of thepear from the stemming tube I to its position on thecoring plate (not shown) must be accomplished so as to maintain theposition of the pear with respect to its seed cavity as is establishedon the stemming tube I by the positioning of thecollar 5.

The transfer means are'also operative and carry the fruit acrossthesplitting. blade I2 to split the fruit into halves and to position thefruit on'the coring plate. during the continuous operation of theworking turret and as the quill shaft I9 is continuously rotated. Thetransfer means includes a'pair of contoured pear-engaging clamps I3which are preferably of the following construction: Each of the clampsI3 includes a pair'of preformed engaging members I4, the innerengaging-surface I5 of which. is contoured of general or average outlineof the fruit to be engaged. Each of th members I4 is carried on asupporting pin- I6 mounted within a bore formed in the arcuate suporting arm I1. Asillustrated; two such bores 18 are provided in each.end of the arm I! in order to permit adjustment of the position oftheengaging members I 4 depending upon the size of the vfruit beingprocessed. The members i l have limited pivotal movement around theirpivot I6, limited by the surface IQ of the arm IIengaging the arcuatesurface 20 ofthe members I4.

The arcuate arms I'lfare pivotally mounted on supporting pins 2I carriedat the ends of the links 22. In order to yieldably control pivotalmovement of the arcuate arm II, a flatspring 23 is carried at its endswithin recesses 24 formed from a guide bracket G5 which is secured tothe lower end of the slide bracket 38 by means of spaced bolts il whichpass through elongated slots 48 formed in the side rails 49 of the slidebracket 38. The guide bracket 46 provides a guide way 50 through whichthe cam slide 3 extends. Carried between the side rails 49 are centerslide-retaining plates 5| which are held in position by means ofcapscrews 52. These retaining plates are also formedto provide aguideway 53 for the cam slide 34.

Carried by the plates 5! is a cam bolt 54.which carries the slidebracket actuating cam roller 55. The rails 49 are recessed to provideslide ways 56 in which the guide bars 51 of the main turret guidebracket 58 fit.- The guide bracket 58' is supported within the interiorof the cam cylinder 59 and is supported from the rotating shaft I0 ofthe operating turret to revolve therewith. The cam roller is adapted toride in-a cam groove or way 60 formed'in the cam cylinderfil, The camcylinder 6| is supportedwithin the operating turret cover cylinder 52.The cylinder 52 V is supported upon the upper end of the stationarycolumn 6 and is held stationary.

By means of the cam way 58 the slide bracket 38 is raised and lowered tocarry clamp members I3 down to a position where the clamp members I3 maygrip the pear as it is supported upon the stemming tube I and raise thepear over the splitting blade I2 to split the pear into halves and toelevate the pear off from the blade I2 to position the same over thecoring plate where the seed-pod of the two separated halves may beremoved. I

The cam actuating slide 34 carries at its upper end a guide bracket E53which is adapted to fit between the rails 49 of the slide bracket 38.The bracket 63 is secured to the upper end of the cam slide 34 by meansof a pair of spaced bolts and in the fork 25 of the links 22 and thesprings 23 are engaged intermediate their ends against the flat surface26 of the pin-receiving boss 21 of .the .arms I1.

The links 22 are supported so as to have a diametrical movement withrelation to the center within the area formed by the contoured faces I5of theengaging members I4 and are thus supported by parallel links 28and 29, respectively. The links 22 carry at their outerends camrollers30 supported by cam shafts3l mounted with in the bosses 32.The-cam rollers 30 are adapted to beengaged by the cams 33 carried bycam slides 34. The cam rollers 30 and cams 33 are operable as willhereinafter-be set forth to urge the clamp. members I3.apart away fromthe fruit. .Means are provided'for yieldably urging the clamp members I3into fruit-engaging position, whichmeans as herein illustrated includesthe followingz- 'lhe parallel links 28 and 29 are supalso carries a camshaft 65 upon which thecam roller 66 is journaled.

The slide 34 is formed with an elongated slot Bl through which thecamshaft 54 extends. The cam slide 34 carries at its lower end a yoke 68to the outer ends of which is secured the cam plates 33.

The cam roller 65 is way 69 formed in the cam cylinder 59. The cam way69 is formed so as to actuate the camplates 33 to cause the clamps I3 toopen after the coring operation has been completed and to retain theclamps I3 in their open position during thje descent of the slidebracket 38 and until theclamps I3 are positioned adjacent a fruitcarried upon the stemming tube I when the cam plates "33 'ar retractedto permit the torsion springs 40 to move the clamps I3 in position toclamp the fruit sup ported upon the stemming tube I:

As illustrated injigure 3, the stationa y guide bracket 58 is supportedupon a spider-Ill which is in turn secured to the rotating column-Ill. vThe fruit transfer means embodying my invention is particularly adaptedfor the transadapted to ride in a cam ferring of fruit from oneoperating mechanism to another while holding the fruit in definiteposition so that the fruit will be delivered to the second operatingmechanism in a predetermined position. In the particular modificationshown, the fruit, 1. e., a pear, has been impaled upon a stemming tube Iand while so impaled it is peeled by the cutters 3 and 4 (seeapplication Serial No. 355,988, supra). The pearls then transferred overthe splitting blade I2 to a coring mechanism, as described in my parentapplication.

While the turret is revolving around the column 6, and when the peelinghead, including the cutters 3 and 4, reaches the predetermined positionwith relation to the stationary cam cylinder 59, the cam roller 55operating in the cam way 60 lowers the clamp members I3 to the positionwhere the clamps I3 may grip the pear held on the stemming tube I. Atthis time, due to'the action of the cam roller 66 within cam way 69 theclamps I3 are moved apart as the slide 34 is depressed to thrust thecams 33 against the rollers 30 to spread the clamps I3 in opposition tothe action of the springs All. When the clamps I3 are lowered to thepick out position, the cam roller 63 operating in the way 69 raises theslide 34, detracting the cams 33 from position to spread the clamps I3.The clamps I3 are then urged together by the springs 40. As the clampsI3 engage the fruit, they adjust themselves to the contour of the fruitas they pivot around their supporting pins I6 and ZI under the influenceof the leaf spring 23. As the fruit is at this time supported fromwithin on its stem axis, the spring pressure exerted on the clamps I3can not alter the position of thefruit. When the clamps I3 have engagedthe fruit and the fruit is gripped by the preformed engaging members I4,the slide bracket 38 and slide 34 are raised together by the action ofthe rollers 66 and 55 in the ways 69 and 69, respectively, The fruit isthen raised away from the peeling unit and passed over the splittingblade I2, split into halves and is then raised to a coring position.

The coring operation is fully described in my copending application,Serial No. 355,988, and need not be repeated here.

After the fruit is cored, the clamps I3 are retracted from the fruitpermitting the peeled, halved, stemmed and cored fruit halves todischarge from the machine,

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I donot wish to be limited to the details herein set forth, but my inventionis of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a pear preparing machine of a clamping assemblyhaving parallel vertical guide bars therein, a frame slidably disposedon said vertical guide bars, a roller secured to said frame, a clamp camtrack fixed to said machine and arranged for the rotation therein ofsaid roller, whereby vertical displacements of said frame are obtainedin accordance with the configuration of said clamp cam track, a clampingfinger frame fixed to said slidably disposed frame, opposed pairs ofclamping fingers pivotally mounted on said clamping finger frame, meansdisposed on said clamping finger frame for urging said opposed pairs ofclamping fingers toward each other, and a clamping finger cam rollerassociated with each pair of clamping fingers; a clampingfinger-controlling cam-supporting bar slidably disposed within saidframe, a clamping finger-controlling cam roller rotatably mounted 6 onsaid bar, a finger-controlling cam bracket fixed to said bar, cams fixedto said bracket and arranged to force said clam-ping finger rollersoutwardly when downwardlydisplaced in contact 5 therewith, and a camtrack formed in said machine arranged for the travel therein of saidclamping finger-controlling cam roller, whereby as movement of saidclamping unit occurs relative to said clamp cam track, said clampingunit may be vertically displaced and said clamping fingers may be openedand closed at predetermined points during said rotation.

2. A clamping unit for use in a pear preparing machine arranged to graspsaid pear on opposite sides of a splitting blade and to elevate saidpears into engagement with opposite sides of a splitting plate andcoring unit while maintaining the initial alignment between theseparated pear halves, comprising a clamp-supporting frame slidablymounted on guide ways within said pear preparing machine, a clampingfinger bracket secured to said frame, opposed pairs of clamping fingerspivotally secured to said bracket and arranged to grasp said pear whiledrawing it over splitting means; resilient means for forcing saidclamping fingers together, and a cam roller associated with each of saidopposed pairs of fin gers; a cam-supporting frame slidablydisposedwithin said clamp-supporting frame, a cam bracket fixed to saidcam-supporting frame, a pair of cam surfaces fixed to said cam bracketand arranged to engage said cam rollers on said clamping finger bracket,a clamping finger-opening cam roller rotatably mounted on saidcarnsupporting frame, a clamping unit-displacing cam roller rotatablysecured to said clamp-sup porting frame, said unit displacing cam rollerand said clamping finger-opening roller being arranged to travel withincam tracks formed in said pear preparing machine, whereby said clampingunit may be vertically displaced while holding said pear, and saidclamping fingers may be released from said pear at predetermined pointsduring the operation of the machine.

3. In a pear preparing machine having a peeling station and a coringstation above the peeling station and vertically aligned therewith,means for transferring a pear from said peeling station to said coringstation and for separating the pear into halves during such transfer,comprising a splitting blade disposed in vertical alignment with saidpeeling station and said coring station, a clamping unit arranged tograsp the pear at said peeling station, means for simultaneouslyelevating said clamping unit and a splitting blade, and means forelevating said clamping unit beyond said splitting blade, whereby a pearmay be halved by passage over said splitting blade and raised intoalignment with said coring 6 station.

4. In a pear preparing machine, a rotating turret having a plurality ofvertically aligned pear preparing sections disposed thereabout, whereineach of said sections comprises vertically aligned peeling and coringstations, means for raising a pear from said peeling station to saidcoring station and for halving said pear during rotation of said turret,comprising a clamping unit slidably disposed within said turret, animpaling and splitting blade assembly slidably disposed within saidturret, said impaling and splitting unit comprising an impaling bladearranged to be forced into the large end of a pear and a splitting bladeformed integrally with said impaling blade and 7 arranged to passentirely through said pear when saidp'ear' is drawn upwardly relativethereto by said clamping unit and to remove the upper stem fibrestherefrom during such passage; said clamping unit comprising opposedpairs of clamping fingersarranged to grasp a pear from opposite sides ofsaidsplitting blade and to maintain the original alignment of the pearhalves as they draw the pear thereover to the coring station.

5. In combination with a pear preparing machine having a peeling stationand a coring station disposedin verticalalignment, means fortransferring a pear from said peeling station to said coring stationcomprising a'pair of opposed clampingfingers pivotally secured to aclamping finger bracket, said bracket being mounted ona clamping frame,slidably disposed within said machine and arranged for vertical travelbetween said peeling and coring stations,-a pair of bracket armsassociated with said clamping frame, inner and outer bracket armspivotally connected to said main frame and arranged to maintain saidclamping fingers in a desired alignment regardless of the position ofsaid pivotally mounted arms, a cam roller associated with each of saidclamping fingers, and resilient means arranged to urge said opposedpairs of clamping fingers .toward each other; an auxiliary framevertically slidable within said clamping frame, cam bracket arms fixedtosaid auxiliary frame, and cams fixed to said, cam bracket arms andarranged to engage said cam rollers, whereby a downward verticaldisplacement of, said auxiliary frame relative to said clamping framewill engage said cams with said cam rollers to separate said opposedpairs of clamping fingers; a cam roller fixed to said clamping frame andarranged to be controlled by a clamping cam. track formed within saidmachine, and a cam roller rotatably mounted on said auxiliary frame andarranged to travel in a clampscam track formed within said machine,whereby movement of said stations along said clamping and clamps camtrack within said turret will raise said clamping fingers from saidpeeling station to said coring station and subsequent downwarddisplacement of said auxiliary frame will separate said clamping fingersat the conclusion of the coring station operation. 7

6, In combination in a fruit preparation machin having means forcarrying out successive operations upon a fruit, of a transfer meansadapted to transfer the fruit from one operation to another, saidtransfer meanscomprising'two pairs of clamping fingers movably supportedby a bracket, means yieldably urging the pairs of clamping means towardeach other, a slide carfied by the bracket, cam means carried by theslide adapted to engage cooperating elements carried by the bracket tohold the pairs of clamping fingers apart against said urging means,means for moving the bracket, slide and clamping fingers in position topick up the fruit from one operation and to transfer the fruit to asecond operation, means for moving the slide to pickup position toretract'the cam members whereby the fingers are yieldably urged togetherto engage the fruit, the clamping fingers being contoured and beingpivotally supported for limited movement upon opposed arcuate arms, andthe arcuate arms in turn being pivotally supported by link memberssupported by the bracket, and having spring means for resisting pivotalmovement of the arcuate arms with relation to said link members.

'7. In combination in a pear preparation machine having means forcarrying out successive operations upon a fruit, of a transfer meansadapted to transfer the fruit from one operation to another, saidtransfer means comprising cam means having spaced camways therein, aslide frame, a cam roller carried by the slide frame whereby the frameismoved, two pairs of clamping fingers movably supported by the slideframe, means yieldably urging the pairs of clam-ping fingers toward eachother, a slide carried by the slide frame, a cam roller carried by thelatter slide and adapted to cooperate with one of the camways of the cammeans whereby the latter slide is moved relatively to the slide frameand in timed relation with the movement of the slide frame, and meansinterposed between the slide and the clamp fingers for moving the pairof clamp fingers apart against said urging means whereby the fruit ispicked up from one operation and transferred to a second operation, theclamping fingers being contoured and being supported in pairs forlimited movement upon opposed arcuate arms, and the arcuate arms beingpivotally supported with relation to the slide frame and having springmeans for resisting pivotal movement of the arcuate arms with relationto said slide frame.

GUY A DUNN.

